Children of Loki
by YAY13
Summary: Four new riders have been revealed on Berk. This series of one shots shows the adventures of these riders and the gang as they have adventures.
1. Berk

Hey. This is the first chapter of my story. This was just really to introduce the OCs and there will be longer chapters coming... Hopefully.

I'm really bad at disclaimers so this is a disclaimer for any chapters I forget it on.

Enjoy

* * *

><p>The day started as an ordinary day. Hiccup practically rolled out of his bed onto the back of his dragon and was off soaring through the crisp morning sky with his friends. A layer of frost coated Berk and it shone as the bright sun hit it. It was a beautiful sight and Hiccup was proud that at least two of his five friends was appreciating it.<p>

"Why have you got us up here, Hiccup? We were watching sheep trying to cross the frozen lake." Ruffnut laughed with a smile.

Her brother also laughed. Hiccup rolled his eyes and continued to look forwards.

"Look at Berk, lit up my its own glow from the frost that covers it and..." Fishlegs said.

"Ohh!" Tuffnut said, looking down at the sight of Berk. "I... Don't see it."

Astrid told Hiccup that it wasn't worth it and went back to marvelling at the wonder of her home. Snotlout was moaning about the trip, saying how he would much rather be in bed. Astrid tried to make him quieten down by suggesting that he was only moaning because he wasn't strong enough to manage the trip like the rest of them but it didn't stop him.

As they crossed out over the sea, Astrid told Snotlout to think of it as a training exercise. She told him to tell them exactly what he saw and soon the twins had joined in.

"There's a sea stack. And another sea stack and a dragon... Oh no wait... That's just a sea stack." Snotlout groaned.

"And a cloud! And a cloud. And an Outcast ship. And a cloud." Tuffnut said.

Toothless pulled back so Hiccup was level with the twins. Hiccup looked around and caught sight of a ship. He took a deep breath. The large ship was firing at four flying creatures, clearly dragons. There was something very strange as well.

"They've got riders!" Hiccup gasped.

It was one simple sentence but it got the attention of the others. The group of riders turned so they could fly off to help.

.

A wall of arrows flew through the air but a rippling burst of lightening cut through them and burn them to ashes.

"Thanks Aya!" a call was heard but no one was seen.

Hiccup frowned as he approached. He was sure he had seen four dragons, now he could only see three. He just hoped that it hadn't been shot down.

"Twins, Snotlout, lay down cover fire!" Hiccup shouted, getting Toothless to swoop down.

Astrid was shouting to Hiccup about the dragons she recognised.

"We've got a Boneknapper and a Skrill." Astrid said.

Hiccup looked around and saw a large Boneknapper soaring through the sky. The Skrill was trying to take out the Outcasts who were firing arrows.

"Do we attack the dragons who have just shown up?" a boy's voice called from the back of a large beetle like dragon none of them recognised.

Toothless fired a plasma blast at the boat and the men leapt back. As soon as the threat of the Outcasts were gone, the four strange dragon raiders turned tail.

"Split up!" the boy on the Boneknapper shouted.

The three dragons darted off in different directions and a fourth suddenly appeared. It was a grey dragon that Hiccup didn't recognise. The four strange riders began to dart off.

"Astrid, Fishlegs, take the Boneknapper. Twins, the Skrill. Snotlout, take that one."

Hiccup was pointing at the beetle like dragon. Before any of the gang had time to react, Hiccup and Toothless were chasing after the grey dragon that was disappeared through the clouds.

.

Astrid and Fishlegs were chasing the Boneknapper across the sky. The Boneknapper was faster the two of them but Astrid and Fishlegs were managing to herd the large creature towards Berk. They would fire blasts to the sides of the dragon and it was refusing to risk a blast despite having an almost complete set of armour covering the olive green scales. The dragon was clearly trying to protect its male rider.

"As soon as we get him to Berk, we'll see what is going on."

Suddenly the Boneknapper flew upwards and into the clouds, disappearing from view.

.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were enjoying chasing after the dark purple Skrill. It was patterned with black markings over its top. Every so often the Skrill would turn back and a few bursts of lightening would streak across the sky. It wouldn't got too close to the twins but it would be close enough to make both twins jump.

"This is awesome!" Ruffnut cheered.

Barf and Belch were more than willing to press on. The young rider on the back of the Skrill turned around and smirked at the two. The hunt continued to press on.

.

Snotlout and Hookfang were chasing the beetle like dragon. They had no idea what type of dragon the green and brown armoured creature was but neither cared. He wanted to down the dragon. He could see a boy riding it and he drove Hookfang faster.

"Pull over!" he called as he drew level with the dragon.

The boy looked at Snotlout and grinned. He nodded and told him he would. The beetle like dragon angled its wings so it suddenly slowed. Snotlout watched as the boy began to disappear behind him.

The boy on his dragon smiled. He had seen the Berk crest on Snotlout's clothing so knew where he should probably head.

.

Hiccup was having to follow Toothless' lead. The other dragon had camouflaged himself and his rider and Toothless didn't need to see to follow them.

"Could you at least show yourself?" Hiccup called, looking out at the clouds.

He was getting very tired of having to rely on his dragon for directions.

"Hey." a girl appeared on the back of a suddenly grey dragon. "Are you following me?"

It had large ridges over its back which acted like sails. The girl stood on the back of the dragon, facing the opposite way that her dragon was going.

"Whoa, is that a Night Fury?" the girl gasped.

Hiccup paused and smiled, telling the girl that if she went back to Berk with him, he would let her spend some time with Toothless. The girl slowed down so she was riding along side Hiccup.

"So what's Berk like?"

.

By the time Astrid and Fishlegs had appeared, the other dragon riders had already appeared. Snotlout had been followed by the beetle like dragon and now the rider had strolled off to find the rider of the Skrill. The girl Hiccup had very quickly befriended was marvelling at Toothless.

"We lost the Boneknapper." Astrid said.

"It's okay. Alfie is going to find us." the female rider of the Skrill said.

She had shining silver eyes and, under the left one, a crescent moon birthmark. She had long curling navy blue hair which was just settling down from the electric current which had been through it. It reached around her waist.

"So, since we're only here because Jarrick said Berk was safe, why do we actually talk about what was going on back there?"

Hiccup paused. He had recognised the name Jarrick. There was a Jarrick on the island. Jarrick worked in the forge when he could but he didn't work with Gobber so Hiccup had never really known him. Hiccup looked over at the boy who had been riding the unidentified dragon and instantly recognised him. The young man with slicked back brown hair was Jarrick.

"You're Jarrick Oakensheild! I didn't know you rode a dragon." Hiccup said, moving forwards.

He tripped over what he thought could have been thin air but then he realised the camouflage dragon was there. It turned grey and moved towards its rider.

"Why don't we just calm down?" Astrid said. "We'd all better introduce ourselves."

She turned to the strange dragon riders who had been with Jarrick. The girl with blue hair smiled and introduced herself as Skye Aysun Whitescar but told the group that they should call her Aya. She walked over to her Skrill that was being annoyed by Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"This is Tempest." Aya said, brushing one of her hands against the dragon's snout.

The ginger girl with her invisible dragon smiled. She had long, straight ginger hair and bright blue eyes. She moved closer to her dragon and it turned to a deep grey.

"I'm Iesra. This is..."

The dragon pushed against Iesra slightly forwards and rubbed into her back.

"Hey, Ghost, stop it." she paused. "This is Ghost. He's a Stealth Dragon."

Fishlegs hurried forwards. He had seen a Skrill before but not even the Book of Dragons had a drawing of a Stealth Dragon. He took in the moving ridges on the dragon's back which allowed the rider to be camouflaged and also the darker grey marks and speckles on the dragon's back.

Finally the group turned to Jarrick and his dragon. They didn't recognise the type of dragon he had and, although some of them were annoyed that he had been keeping it a secret from them, everyone was intrigued.

"What sort of dragon is that?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout moved forwards, patting the large armoured beast. The dragon turned to face Snotlout and gave a bellow towards him. Snotlout raised his club.

"Whoa, he's just excited." Jarrick said, looking straight at Snotlout.

He didn't want anyone to hurt his dragon. He moved between Snotlout and his dragon.

"This is Titan." Jarrick said. "He's a Rumblehorn. Stubborn, loyal and energetic."

Fishlegs and Hiccup ran towards the new dragon and began to examine the dragon. They took in the large beetle like shell and the horn on the creature's nose.

"Hello." Hiccup said.

"I think they're forgetting something, Aya." Iesra said, settling down on Ghost's back.

"What?" Hiccup asked, turning back.

"It's okay, boy number one, it's not like we need to know your names." Aya said with a roll of her eyes.

She looked at Jarrick and sighed, beginning to tell the teenaged girls the names of the riders and their dragons.

"And that's Hiccup. He's in charge of the dragon training academy." Jarrick said.

Iesra smirked to herself.

"So I'm guessing you and Alfie aren't really in his good books right now." Iesra said, leaping off the back of Ghost and wondering over.

She looked at Toothless and rested her hand on his snout, absent-mindedly. She didn't know the name of the dragon but she didn't mind. She knew enough about Night Furies to know that she would be safe so long as she didn't threaten him. Jarrick had stopped going through the names so he could talk to Aya.

"That girl?"

"The twin?"

"No, Jay, the other one. The one who went after Alfie." Aya said, pointing at Astrid. "Is she the girl who Aflie...?"

Jarrick (or Jay as that was his nickname) nodded with a smirk. He introduced Astrid to Aya and matched her with her dragon.

Iesra watched as the attention of the others fell from Titan onto her as she approached.

"So your name is Hiccup? What sort of name is that?" Iesra asked calmly.

"I know. It's bad." Hiccup grumbled.

Iesra smiled and shook her head. She looked at Hiccup.

"It just can't help thinking that I'm going to get introduced to someone called Barf or Belch or something like that." she said.

The boy frowned and turned to Tuffnut and Ruffnut. The twins were shocked, looking like they had just met a mind reader. Iesra read Hiccup's expression like a book and then her eyes landed on the Zippleback.

"You Berkians are odd." Iesra said with a sigh, reading the boy's expression.

.

The Boneknapper landed on the cliffs above the training academy. The rider looked down and his lips pulled into a smirk. He was happy that all his friends were clearly safe. Part of him wanted to see his friends but he wasn't sure he wanted the academy to know about his dragon.

"We'll see them later, Shadowfire." the boy said.

.

"They can't just stay here." Astrid hissed at Hiccup.

They were watching Aya and Jay try and control the twins and Snotlout who were trying to play games with the three new dragons. Iesra was looking at Toothless, thinking aloud about how he had managed to follow her so well. She had liked his name but hadn't understood it because Toothless has happily shown her his teeth.

"No, they can't. But how do we know they're safe? What if they're traps like Heather was?" Fishlegs said, shifting nervously.

Tuffnut wondered up to them, shaking his head.

"If they're traps, they're not very good. If we think that they're traps when we're not meant to think they're traps then they're not very good traps are they... Or something." Tuffnut said and was suddenly distracted by his sister.

"So... We're going to have to find them a house, the girls I mean. Not Jarrick, he's got his parents." Hiccup said.

There was a pause as they all tried to think of a place the girls could go.

"There's an empty one that could do."

"What? Where?" Fishlegs asked.

"No, you can't send them up there." Astrid said, suddenly understanding what was happening.

"Send them up where?" Jay said, approaching.

"Mildew's." Hiccup answered.

.

"We'll have to build a shed or something." Jay concluded when he first saw Mildew's house. "It's never going to fit two dragons, Aya and Iesra otherwise."

Hiccup nodded. Astrid was showing Aya and Iesra around the hut. It was fully equipped with Mildew's things but it was clear the girls didn't really appreciate being put in the old house of a traitor and dragon hater.

"We'll add in an extra section later and then get some better furniture."

Suddenly, Hiccup noticed a dragon in the sky. It was getting closer. He recognised the dragon as a Boneknapper.

"Alfie, what's happening?" Aya asked, rushing out of the house.

The Boneknapper landed nearby and a teenaged boy leapt off. He had black hair and grey eyes. A birthmark was on his jaw, just off to the left. Freckled footprints journeyed across the ridge of his nose. Everyone quickly recognised him as Alfgeir Hjalte. He was an apprentice fisherman who wanted to cast off his family's trade. Astrid was sure that Alfgeir 'Alfie' wanted to become a warrior.

"Outcast ship!" he called, running up to them.

Shadowfire looked at the three new dragons.

"We've already dealt with one!" Tuffnut moaned.  
>"You've got a Boneknapper! How many people on the island have dragons that we don't know about?" Snotlout moaned.<p>

Alfie looked at them as if they didn't understand him. He reminded them that he had seen an Outcast ship.

"Where is it?" Hiccup asked, taking control of the situation.

He was already moving to climb onto Toothless.

"Off the South coast. They're probably after us four." Alfie said.

He turned to Jarrick and muttered that they shouldn't have burnt down the Outcast food store. Hiccup frowned.

"You four need to stay here. If the Outcasts are after you, it's safer for you here." Hiccup said, taking off on Toothless' back.

The other teenagers from Hiccup's group began to take off and then Aya, Jay and Alfie were left looking around.  
>"Where are Iesra and Ghost?"<p>

"I'll go get her." both Jay and Aflie said, running towards their dragons. "You take care of Aya."

Both paused to look back at where Aya had been but their attention was drawn to a Skrill shooting through the sky.

"We need to put leashes on those girls." Aflie muttered as his dragon took off and began to shoot across the sky.

.

Hiccup could tell the Outcast ship wasn't expecting much of a fight. It was a single ship that clearly wasn't armed enough to take down one dragon. He guessed that Alvin had sent a ship pretty quickly after the food store had been burnt down to track them. Hiccup guessed that as soon as the ship had followed the riders back to their home, Alvin would send a whole fleet to kill or capture them.

The other dragons were beside Hiccup and Toothless, firing down at the boat and trying to not hurt the Outcasts on board too badly.

Astrid looked at Hiccup and realised that he was being targeted.

"Hiccup!" she shouted as a warning.

A series of arrows were flying through the air forwards the fifteen year old and his Night Fury. Hiccup tried to get Toothless to aim but he knew he couldn't be quick enough. Suddenly a ball of fire burst across, burning the arrows into crisps. Hiccup looked around and smiled when he saw Iesra and Ghost appear beside him.

The rest of the group appeared and Hiccup smiled. Alfie was giving Astrid cover fire as Stormfly fired at the ship and the twins were coating the water with the green gas that they easily turned to fire. Snotlout and Hookfang were dealing with the weapons and Fishlegs and Meatlug were keeping watch over the whole scene. Jay and Aya were taking dives at the ships, taking the larger weapons and dropping them into the sea. Within a few minutes, the ship was easily sunk.

.

Hiccup was sitting at the table with his father. He had to try and explain why there were people with dragons on the island that had never really set foot in the academy. It was rather awkward.

"Dad, the dragon riders are always good things and these teenagers could be pretty useful." Hiccup reasoned with a grin. "If we don't let them stay then they'll get themselves killed."

"You seemed to have pretty much made up your mind." Stoick said with a sigh.

He told Hiccup that the girls could stay and the boys wouldn't be punished. Hiccup smiled and watched as his father left. He turned to face the back all where it looked like there were just shadows.

"You can come out now guys." Hiccup said, crossing his arms.

Ghost changed to his grey form and Hiccup sighed as the four teenagers squashed up on the dragon's back got off.

"Thanks for arguing our cause, Hiccup." Jay said with a smile.

He and Aya left and Alfie informed Hiccup he was moving out of his house with his parents to live with the girls. Iesra looked at Hiccup and frowned.

"So how does Toothless track Ghost?" she asked, patting Ghost's snout. "Can he smell him or does he had some form of heat vision or...?"

* * *

><p>Hey, please review.<p>

And Aya and Jay belong to HallowThorn.

Alfie belongs to LunarWhimsy.


	2. Fishing

Hey, here we go. Might not have time to update before Christmas so Merry Christmas.

I don't own how to train your dragon

"I was throwing the bad fish over the back. It was a boring job but someone had to do it. Anyway, I noticed that none of the fish were hitting the water so I knew something was going on. Then I threw an eel. It was something I did every day. Yes, fishing is dull. But that day the eel caused a roar to sound and this grey dragon appeared, flinging a thirteen years old girl onto the deck. As a reaction, my parents flung a net over the girl and..."

Everyone was listening to Alfie's story intently. He was telling them about how he had first met Iesra. They were six teenagers sitting around the campfire and it was late at night. Iesra and Ghost were asleep, Iesra curled up against Ghost as the Stealth dragon changed colour rapidly to fit with his dream.

"I'm sorry, Al, you may have moved out but you still have to help us with the fishing once in a while." Alfie's father said, appearing behind the group.

Everyone jumped (apart from Iesra who was still asleep). Alfie sighed and got to his feet. He didn't like fishing.

"But we need to find out how Iesra escapes!" Astrid moaned. "And somehow we need to get her back to their house."

Alfie looked hesitantly at his father but was quickly told that he needed to work. He apologised to his friends and went to go. Hiccup looked at Iesra.

"Jay, Astrid, do you think you could pick her up or...?"

Aya sighed and got up. She walked up to Iesra and brushed back the burning red hair. She blew into the girl's ear and Iesra jumped and shrieked, waking up.

"The only way that ever works." Aya remarked.

Ghost was growling, having been woken up by Iesra's shrieks. He growled at Aya but settled down when he was sure his rider was safe.

"Where's Alfie?" Iesra asked.

.

Alfie was grumbling as he threw the net over the side.

"Dad, you fished for years without me." Alfie informed his father. "You don't need me."

His father shook his head and walked across the boat so he could talk to his son.

"I'm really proud of you. You and Shadowfire, you've grown up so fast and now you're the responsible one in a house of your own."

There was a pause. Alfie couldn't really believe his father had got him on a late night fishing trip to have some father and son bonding.

"Now you are probably thinking about the future. Being a warrior isn't a very long term career. Everyone need fish, especially with all those dragons around."

Alfie rolled his eyes and got back to the net. His dad's hand landed on his shoulder and Alfie looked up at him.

"If you are going to become a warrior, you're going to need a weapon."

His father handed him a large triple pointed trident. It was perfectly weighted and meant for use fishing. Alfie had been taught to use one from his youth.

"But if I give you this trident then you need to promise me that you'll help me out whenever I need it." Alfie's dad said.

Alfie nodded and took the trident from his father, placing it behind him and continuing to handle the net.

.

Below the surface of the water, a creature studied Alfie and his father. It chirped. Then it ploughed into the net the seventeen year old boy was holding.

"Alfie!"

.

Shadowfire brushed against Jay, as if wondering where Alfie was. It was the next morning and Alfie hadn't returned. The fishing boat hadn't returned.

"Hey, Jay, have you seen...?" Hiccup said, walking up to Jay as he tried to stop Titan and Shadowfire from getting into a play fight.

"No! Alfie is not back yet." Jay shouted exasperated.

Hiccup took a step back from the sudden bellow from Jay.

"I was actually going to ask if you had seen Iesra. Um... Toothless wanted to see Ghost."

Jay picked up on the hints of a blush in Hiccup's cheeks. He noticed Toothless seemed content with playing with Titan and Shadowfire and took in the knowing glance Titan was giving him about Hiccup.

"She doesn't like to be around people. She's probably off somewhere with Ghost." He paused, thinking back. "I think she might have offered to pick some herbs or something for Gothi."

Hiccup nodded and called Toothless. Jay watched them go.

Jay himself was torn with how he was going to spend the morning. Aya was training with Astrid and the twins were off causing each other harm. He had no idea what Fishlegs was going but he guessed it had something to do wih updating the book of dragons (which Jay was now sure he was an expert on given how much Fishlegs had told him during the excitement of two new dragon species). He was considering going for a ride on Titan and getting Snotlout and Hookfang to join them. He didn't, however, want to leave Shadowfire alone while he went off adventuring.

Then he noticed a boat going into the port. He looked up at Shadowfire and told him with a grin that Alfie was back.

.

Iesra was standing in the middle of the wood, Ghost beside her. She was examining the flowers nearby, searching for the right one. She found a blue flower and went to pick it. She stopped.

Ghost was growling.

"Is someone there, buddy?" Iesra asked.

She reached down and produced her weapon of choice. She loaded it and pointed it in the direction Ghost was growling.

"Thanks for the warning." she smiled.

Her hands were steady and the moment she saw movement she fired.

"Whoa!" a boy Iesra's age shouted after his black dragon jumped to the boy's protection.

Iesra blushed and apologised to Hiccup. He told her there was no harm done. He took the weapon off her however.

"You use a slingshot?"

"I like to travel light."

Hiccup paused and frowned. He asked Iesra if she travelled a lot. Iesra nodded and took back her slingshot.

"Not many places are willing to take a kid like me for a long amount of time and those that do, I don't always feel comfortable in."

For a long moment, Hiccup was left staring into Iesra's blue eyes. She looked into his and then Toothless leapt.

He hit into Hiccup and pinned him down, licking him happily. Ghost appeared behind Iesra and pulled her back with his tail. Iesra shook her head as she turned back to the flower she had needed to pick.

"I better get this back to Gothi." she told Hiccup as she struggled under Toothless. "Me and Ghost are going flying at sunset, want to come?"

Hiccup nodded a bit too enthusiastically and then decided he had to rein it in. He said he would come if he could.

"Great, Jay will be happy for company talking about forges and stuff when me and Aya are reminiscing." Iesra smiled and then the ridges closed up around her and she disappeared.

Hiccup looked up at Toothless and frowned.

"You did that on purpose." Hiccup moaned and tried to push the dragon off him.

He soon gave up and sighed.

"Okay, me liking Iesra can be our little secret." Hiccup said.

Toothless looked happy with this answer and got off his rider.

"Way you're acting," Hiccup remarked. "I would say you're jealous."

.

Astrid was happy that she had someone to spare with who was actually roughly on her level and not trying to flirt with her the whole time. Aya was happy to have someone female she could spar with who didn't insist on using a slingshot and a dagger as her only weapons.

Aya and Astrid were both armed with swords and their own personal shields. Astrid's shield had the Berk crest on it and was completely. Aya's shield had a Skrill painted over a layer of metal. It resembled Hiccup's shield slightly.

Aya raised her shield just in time to block the lunge from Astrid. They were talking as they fought but they both had their main focuses on fighting.

"Have you ever fought Alfie?" Aya asked as she lunged forwards.

"No." Astrid answered with a parry. "Is he good?"

"For a boy."

Astrid looked thoughtful for a moment and shrugged. She had never really talked to Alfie before the two weeks ago where he had been revealed as a rider. She had watched him training once and been impressed but when she had gone to talk to the red faced boy, he had turned redder and quickly made his escape.

.

Jay, Titan and Shadowfire ran down to the Hjalte boat. A crowd had formed around the boat but Jay couldn't understand why. He practically leapt onto the boat and looked around.

"Alfie?" he called. "Shadowfire was missing you."

Jay frowned when his friend didn't just suddenly appear. He felt uncomfortable about what was going on. He could see Mr Hjalte was sitting on a crate, looking heartbroken.

"My son..." he whimpered.

It was clear to Jay that something had gone very wrong. Mr Hjalte had been crying and Alfie was missing.

"Mr Hjalte, what happened?"

.

Alfie could remember something suddenly pulling on the net. He could remember not being able to let go and hitting the water. He could remember the panic as he had seen a large creature about the size of a man pulling him through the water. He could remember passing out.

What he couldn't remember was how he had ended up on the island. He was lying to the beach, dripping wet and not holding the net any longer.

Normally it wouldn't have been a concern for Alfie but Shadowfire wasn't with him and that made getting off the island very hard.

Alfie sat up and brushed the sand out of his hair. He searched through his pockets and saw that the contents were soaked. He had a notebook in one and it was dripping wet. It had a selection of dragon bones drawn over the pages and tallies to show the growth, depletion and re-growth of Shadowfire's armour. Slipping the notebook away, Alfie surveyed the island with a frown. There was a dense clump of trees and a strip of beach. Alfie sighed and decided to find a water and food source in case he was out there for a long time.

.

Any of the riders who had been easy to find were in the academy, getting told a shorter version of the story that Jay had been told. It was pretty clear that something bad had happened to Alfie and a search party was desperately needed. Fishermen had already launched their boats and more where leaving every second.

Six riders and seven dragons stood in the academy.

"From Hjalte's description, there is a large water creature that could be dangerous." Hiccup said.

"Then let's get out there!" Iesra called.

Aya rolled her eyes and asked Hiccup what that meant. He explained that it meant they needed to keep away from the water line.

.

"I'm hungry!" Snotlout moaned.

They had only been flying for a few minutes and already Snotlout was moaning. Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked at Astrid for help. Astrid looked back at Snotlout and told him to be quiet. Jay said he was hungry as well.

"You're always hungry." Aya said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe we should land." Iesra said. "You were all up late last night and I can't think of the last time Aya and Tempest went to sleep."

Hiccup could see an island and he nodded. He got them to land the dragons there.

.

Alfie was listening out. He was pretty sure that he had suddenly heard voices start. He had seen a fire and was sure that a camp had formed. He decided to go and see what was happening. He had talked to both Aya and Iesra who had visited many of the inhabited islands around Berk and they had never told him about this one. He crept up on the camp.

He couldn't actually see the camp but he could make out a figure sitting in a tree with their back facing him. It would be easy for him to find out what was happening.

He climbed the tree silently, used to climbing. He reached out and clamped his hand over the figure's mouth, pulling them back.

"Aya!" a familiar voice screamed.

Alfie looked down at the struggling figure he was holding and realised that it was Aya. A grin flooded across Alfie's face and he let his friend good. Dragons and their riders were already appearing.

"Alfie!" the group cheered as they rushed forwards.

.

Alfie had told the group what he knew. He had told them what he had seen of the creature and that it wasn't dangerous.

"Is it some sort of dragon?" Iesra asked.

Alfie paused and shook his head. Hiccup raced through all the dragons he could remember and he knew of a few water dragons but none that would just dump Alfie on a shore with no reason for it.

"At least I got out of fishing." Alfie said with a smile.

For a few seconds, his attention fell onto Astrid and, when the female warrior realised she was being stared at, she stared back. Alfie looked away first, a blush on his cheeks.

Titan once again gave a knowing look at Jay who rolled his eyes. Jay paused and tipped his head back.

"We should launch a search. Go along the water line." Jay suggested.

Hiccup quickly shook his head even as excitement was being to blaze in the eyes of his companions. Iesra and Aya were already on their feet when Hiccup began.

"We could get attacked." Hiccup said.

"But Alfie said the creature wasn't any bigger than a man." Iesra reasoned with a smirk. "And Toothless is desperate for a ride."

Hiccup looked around at the group and tried to work out who wanted you leave. Toothless and Stormfly looked like they wanted to go and Ghost was fighting not to camouflage himself ready for a flight. Hookfang and Titan were already letting their riders climb on as neither Jay or Snotlout wanted the other to seem braver. Astrid was looking at Hiccup for approval, knowing Hiccup was the leader while Hiccup was sure he could see Alfie looking for Astrid's approval as he pretended to be grown up.

"Well I'm going." Aya announced. "And help won't be turned down. Unless it is from Snotlout."

She took off and Ghost, disappearing as he flew, with Iesra. Hookfang and Titan took off with their riders.

"I'd better go after them." Alfie said, standing up.

He climbed onto Shadowfire's back and shifted slightly, smiling at the familiar feeling. He got Shadowfire to take off and Hiccup looked at Astrid.

"They're so stubborn."

"So you're going to join us then?" Astrid asked, climbing onto Stormfly.

Hiccup sighed but smiled and moved towards Toothless.

.

The group were flying out over the ocean. The sun was setting and the sea and its gentle ripples were dyed red and orange. The dragons and their riders were very happy to relax and watch the sea.

"It's beautiful." Aya remarked.

"It as beautiful as you." Snotlout said.

Jay glared at Snotlout and flew closer to Aya. Aya was reaching for her knife, ready to throw it at Snotlout. Jay stopped her.

Hiccup was flying next to Astrid. He could see something dark in the water. He frowned.

"Astrid, look at that." I said.

Astrid shifted her weight so she was leaning off the side of Stormfly. She paused and then Stormfly flew upwards. Something had leapt out of the water and cut through the air. At Stormfly's sudden movement, Astrid lost her balance and fell from her dragon. She hit the water.

"Hiccup! Get her!" Alfie shouted, knowing Hiccup was the closest.

Hiccup shouted back that he couldn't. If he got off Toothless, the dragon would fall into the water. Alfie wanted to roll his eyes but he didn't have the time. He dove head first into the sea before even Shadowfire knew what was going on. The group and their dragons began to circle.

"What was that thing?" Iesra asked.

Snotlout shrugged and Hiccup said he wasn't sure. The other riders lowered down to the surface of the water and began to study the waterline. They all studied the dark shapes under the water.

.

Alfie began to battle through the water. He could see Astrid being circled by the shapes. He gasped as he realised the creatures were dragon like as they cut through the water. He began to fly through the water, pushing forwards bravely. Astrid was trying to swim upwards but, every time she did, a creature would swim into her path.

The boy swum forwards, his hair flying around his face. His heart was racing and his chest was burning. He managed to reach Astrid and looked around. Bubbles and long blonde hair blocked their view. They couldn't make sense of what was happening.

Alfie pulled down, hoping to be able to swim under the creatures. Astrid was struggling to fit the urge to breathe. A few bubbles escaped from her mouth and Alfie began to pull her upwards. The creatures noticed they had moved and went towards them.

With the speed of lightening, Alfie and Astrid reacted. They broke apart and began to battle upwards. The creatures were quick but the teenagers were fighting for their lives. They ended up on the surface of the water and Shadowfire swooped down. He snatched Alfie and Astrid out of the water.

One of the creatures leapt out of the water. Hiccup had been looking and watching. He smiled to say he understood. Aya and Iesra recognised the creatures and fell back, laughing.

"They're Golphins!" Aya shouted.

The others looked at them confused apart from Hiccup. He was watching the waterline and the dragon creatures leaping out of the water. He grinned.

"They were playing." Iesra laughed, and then Ghost disappeared.

Her voice could still be heard but no one could see her.

"They must have realised Alfie didn't want to fish and decided to play a game with him."

The dragon reappeared as the tips of his wings cut through the water. Toothless went down as well as the Golphins propelled themselves out of the water and used their wings to do tricks in the air. Alfie and Astrid hung from Shadowfire's grip and shivered from the wet. Aya sighed and got Tempest to fly parallel with Hookfang. She leapt off her dragon and tackled Snotlout. Snotlout went flying off along with Aya and they were caught by Tempest once again.

"Shadowfire, put Alfie and Astrid on the back of Hookfang. He'll help them warm up." Jay said.

"And if they hug, they'll be warmer too." Iesra said with a knowing smirk in Alfie's direction.

Alfie flushed and hoped that the others put it down to the sudden rush of heat from Hookfang. Astrid lean back and her head was resting against Alfie's chest. Alfie grinned.

And they rode the dragons back, heading towards their home. Around them, intelligent and friendly dragon creatures leapt out of the water and danced around them.


	3. The woods

Hey people. Still don't own How To Train Your Dragon! Wish I did.

Happy new year by the way! Bring on 2015!

"There's so much island to explore." Aya remarked, flying on Tempest's back over Berk.

Jay and Titan were with her and they were just enjoying the setting sun together.

"It's been so long that's it's just been us four, I'm still not used to waking up to the sounds of humans and not dragons.

Aya was wearing a headress that she had produced from somewhere and Jay liked it. It suited her greatly. He looked down at the island and could make out his home.

While he and Alfie had grown up on Berk, Iesra and Aya had come from different islands and had run from their homes to embrace life with the dragons. Jay knew that Aya had left home to travel with Tempest before she had met Iesra but both had had run ins with each other's home islands. Then Alfie had saved Iesra from being taken prisoner by Berk during the war against the dragons and Jay had followed him once night and Shadowfire had reacted by kidnapping him. It had been the most rewarding kidnapping Jay had ever had since he had met Titan then.

"How are you settling in?"

"Well." Aya said. "There are too many people in the village but all I have to do is fly off and find somewhere quiet. And everyone is really friendly. Hiccup's around nearly every day to see what we're going to be doing that day and Astrid and Alfie... It might not be official but they're pretty much a couple."

.

It was dark by the time they landed. They landed at the dragon training academy and saw Fishlegs standing by the doors. He was shifting nervously.

"Hello." he stammered.

Meatlug was by his side and pushed comfortingly against her rider.

"What's wrong?" Aya asked. "Has something happened?"

"Iesra was worried you were up in the forest." Fishlegs said.

He pulled the two in and the dragons followed.

.

Everyone else was already in the academy and, surprisingly, so was Gustav. He was telling a story about creatures in the forest and him being attacked.

"I fought them off like a hero." Gustav was telling the teenagers. I kicked the nearest one and I punched another and I..."

"Well, thank you, Gustav." Hiccup said, walking over to the boy.

He told Gustav he could go on his way and the boy ran off to tell others his tale. Hiccup turned to the teenagers.

"It's probably a waste of time but we should investigate these dragon things Gustav was talking about." Hiccup said. "He said he saw them in the forest so we should start there."

He studied the teenagers and tried to work out which groups he could make that would work well.

"Astrid, Alfie, Snotlout, can you search the East of the forest? Twins, take the West. Me and Iesra will take the South."

Titan shot Toothless a knowing look but the Night Fury rolled his eyes. Toothless moved between Iesra and Hiccup, studying the teenager. Although he liked Iesra, Hiccup kept wanting to go out on rides with Iesra and Ghost and sometimes Toothless just wanted some alone time with his rider.

"That means me, Fishlegs and Aya are going to take the North." Jay said with a smile.

They all went to their dragons.

"Remember, it's probably nothing but..." Iesra said. "It's worth investigating."

"We'll meet back here in the morning." Astrid told the group.

They climbed onto their dragons and took off into the sky.

.

"It's very dark." Fishlegs reported as he climbed off Meatlug's back.

He studied the forest around him as the others landed. Aya and Jay climbed off Tempest and Titan.

"Do you think they could be dragons? Gustav didn't mention them flying." Jay said.

Aya reminded him that not all dragons flew all the time. Changewings tended to stay on the ground and Aya could list several dragons that rarely flew.

"Maybe there's another species of giant reptiles on Berk?" Aya said sarcastically.

She looked over at Fishlegs and realised he was panicking a bit.

"You better go and talk to him." Aya said as she pulled a branch off a tree and got Tempest to turn it into a flaming torch.

She began to check the shadows nearby and Jay walked over to Fishlegs. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Fishlegs jumped and turned to face Jay.

"There's no need to be nervous." Jay said.

"I'm... I'm not... Nervous." Fishlegs stammered.

Jay smiled knowingly but agreed with Fishlegs. He turned to Meatlug and told him to stay close to his rider. Meatlug readily agreed and moved closer to Fishlegs.

Jay watched them and turned to Aya. She was scanning the area but both were rather intimidated by the idea that they couldn't quite see deep enough into the shadows to really look around.

"We should have waited until morning." Jay muttered. "If there is something out here then we might be really at a disadvantage. Especially because we don't know the territory."

Aya nodded but smiled. She said if they always waited until they weren't at a disadvantage then they would never get anything done.

"You're unbelievable." Jay told his friend. "In a good way."

Aya turned to her companion and grinned. Fishlegs walked up behind the two of them. He took a deep breath if he was trying to inhale some form of bravery.

"I think we should... We should go on." Fishlegs said slowly.

.

They had been walking for what seemed like ages. Their dragons were walking behind them, offering protection from behind.

Fishlegs was jumping every time he heard, a twig snap. A large snap sounded from behind them.

"What was that?" Fishlegs hissed.

Jay turned to him for the fifth time that night while Aya tried not to laugh.

"It was Meatlug, once again." Jay growled.

He was at the end of his fuse and annoyed that he had to deal with Fishlegs when he needed sleep. Aya turned to Jay and told him that he needed to stay calm.

Then Fishlegs heard another noise coming ahead. All of the dragons were behind him so it couldn't have been them. Aya and Jay had actually stopped and were talking to each other in hushed voices.

There was another noise from ahead. It was the rustling of leaves. Fishlegs paled.

"There's something there." Fishlegs gulped.

Aya and Jay stopped. They looked at Fishlegs and frowned.

"What?" Jay growled.

"Calm down." Aya said, slapping Jay on the arm.

Jay glared at her but looked towards Fishlegs when there was movement in the direction Fishlegs was studying.

"Maybe it's just the others. It's probably Snotlout or the twins or..."

"Okay... Come out Snotlout. Tuff, Ruff." Jay said, stepping forwards.

Tempest suddenly bounded forwards and shot a burst of lightening into one of the trees nearest to Jay. The teenagers caught snatches of a large black creature in the tree with large wings held at its side and large sharp claws dug into the branch.

"What is that?" Fishlegs shouted.

"Clearly not the others!" Aya called as the teenagers decided to run.

.

Alfie and Astrid were making their way through the forest. They had reached a very dense patch of trees so Shadowfire and Stormfly had to fly above the forest. The two teenagers didn't like going there. It was too dark to see anything.

"Maybe we should search in the morning." Astrid said. "It's not like we're going to find anything except for trouble."

Alfie smirked. He turned to Astrid.

"You can hold my hand if you're scared." he smiled.

Astrid pulled away and walked further forwards. Alfie sighed and continued after her. Then there heard something ahead of them. There was something moving through the undergrowth.

"Run!" Alfie ordered, holding out his hand.

Astrid snatched it as a reaction. They ran back the way they had come. They stumbled over roots but kept together.

Then they bounded over a rock and stayed hidden. Alfie, panting to himself, shifted up and looked over the rock.

Their pursuer crashed into view. Alfie gasped.

Then he laughed.

"Astrid, you can let go of my hand." Alfie said.

Astrid stood up and pulled her hand back. Alfie smiled.

"Did we just run from a sheep?" Astrid moaned.

"We should never speak of this again." Alfie said, walking forwards and picking up the sheep.

.

"Hiccup, where's Toothless?" Iesra asked, looking around the darkness.

Hiccup looked back at his friend and frowned.

"Where's Ghost?" he asked in retaliation at the idea he had lost his dragon.

He didn't know where Toothless had gone but he was sure his dragon was nearby. Iesra walked up to Hiccup and then nodded. Hiccup's legs were swept out from under him by a camouflaged tail.

"There's Ghost. He trusts you as much as I do."

"Which is lots?"

Iesra smiled she shook her head. She helped Hiccup up. Hiccup sighed. He decided that he needed to find Toothless. He realised that he could get Toothless to come to him.

"Hey, Iesra. I think that, to make sure we can't get separated, we should hold hands."

Hiccup held out his hand. Iesra looked at him confused but went to hold out her hand. A growl from behind her stopped her hand.

"I've found Toothless." Hiccup said and the two, with their dragons, pressed on.

.

Aya turned to Jay. They were both panting. Their dragons had been lost in the trees and they were pretty sure they had lost Fishlegs too.

"We need to find him." Jay said, turning to face the trees.

Aya stared at him with a frown. She told him he could stop.

"Stop what?" Jay asked.

"Pretending you're fearless." Aya snapped. "It's what you always do and it's stupid."

She looked down at the grassy floor and frowned. Jay looked at her. He was aching to go and search for Fishlegs but he wasn't brave enough to search for him alone.

"I'm just tired." Aya lied.

Her hands twisted and pulled her hair and Jay knew she was lying. He glared at her but walked closer. He told her he wanted the truth. Aya stared at him then nodded.

"I'm terrified. For all we know, that creature has got our friends and our dragons and..." Aya sighed. "Can you just tell me that you're scared so I don't feel so stupid?"

Jay studied his friend and then nodded slowly. He told her that he was scared and that she wasn't stupid. Aya managed a slightly smile.

"So we need to find Fishlegs, before that creature finds him." Jay said.

Jay took Aya's hand and lead the way into the forest.

"Watch from behind."

.

Fishlegs could hear several creatures moving around. They were leaping from tree to tree, circling the boy. His eyes were dancing from tree to tree and he was whispering to himself that everything was going to be alright. One of the creatures leapt down from the tree. It landed in front of Fishlegs and studied him with bright, evil green eyes. Fishlegs stumbled back, landing on his back. The creature came towards him.

Suddenly sparks of orange and yellow appeared in the creature's eyes. Fishlegs glanced back and saw Jay and Aya standing there. Jay was holding the flaming torch while Aya was moving to help Fishlegs to his feet.

"Whoa." Jay breathed, using the flaming torch as a weapon to keep the creature at bay.

"It's a Wolf Fang!" Aya hissed, recognising the creature.

She could remember Wolf Fangs. Once Aya and Iesra had been attacked on an island by a pack of Wolf Fangs. They had both escaped in one piece but... It had been close

With effort, Aya pulled Fishlegs to his feet. She turned and was pulling Fishlegs away before he knew what was happening.

"We need to evacuate the village!" Aya told them all as they tried to hide in the shadows.

The creatures continued to leap about in the trees and the one on the ground stalked forwards. Aya and Jay ran, pulling Fishlegs behind them.

.

They leapt into the cover of some roots that were sticking out and hid in the shadows. For a few tense moments, they listened to the sound of their panting, thinking it was too loud. They could hear something in the tree above them, moving. Jay slowly moved a figure to his lips, an sign to be quiet that wasn't needed.

Then the movement from the tree stopped. The creature had gone. None of them shifted from their hiding place. Jay turned to Aya.

"What's a Wolf Fang?" he murmured a fraction louder than a breath.

Aya paused and took a deep breath so she was able to whisper.

"Wolf Fangs live to hunt. They hunt in packs, live in woods and have excellent night vision." Aya told them.

Fishlegs began to panic again. Jay looked at him with slight irritation in his eyes. He looked back at Aya.

"Why haven't they attacked the village yet?" Jay asked.

Aya told Jay that the Wolf Fangs wouldn't attack the village until they were sure they could hunt there.

"But now they've got a scent, they've got our scent. They'll go to the village if we go back." Fishlegs murmured.

"What weaknesses do they have?" Jay asked.

"None that me and Iesra could find last time we fought them. They don't like to fly and that's how me and Iesra escaped but we can't manage a massive evacuation of the village if we can't go there."

Aya and Jay nodded. Then Jay had an idea.

"I've got an idea but we'll need the dragons." he said.

Aya looked at him with a frown.

"And we'll need a boat. It'll take the dragons to lift the boat but..."

Jay bit his lip. He looked from Fishlegs to Aya and then down.

"Someone will have to act as bait."

.

Aya was the best choice. She knew it. Jay knew it. Even Fishlegs knew it.

They had escaped from the roots and moved out into the woods and were hunting for their dragons.

Aya knew that Titan and Meatlug would be better at moving the boat and, at night, it was also best to keep a Skrill away from large bodies of water.

They were all jumpy as they made their way through the forest. Jay was looking back, Fishlegs forwards and Aya to the sides.

"You know I'm your best chance at pulling off your plan." Aya said. "I could lead the Wolf Fangs there with Tempest with me and..."

"Your not doing it, Aya. If these dragons are as bad as you think, then you are going to be in great danger." Jay told her.

He stopped and looked at Aya. She frowned and then said that they didn't have any other options. Jay nodded and grumbled to himself. He sighed and told Aya that he hated it when she was right.

.

They had found the dragons and Aya was now running through the forest with Tempest by her side. She was being hunted by the Wolf Fangs. She could hear them tearing after her. She was sprinting, getting torn at by branches and twigs.

"Tempest, stay close!" Aya shouted.

The Wolf Fangs were getting closer, snapping after them. Aya stumbled but managed to stay balanced. She guessed the whole pack was following her. She hoped the whole pack was following her.

She caught sight of the boat and went towards it. Somehow Jay and Fishlegs had borrowed a boat that they had managed to fly into a clearing into the woods. They were going to lift the boat as soon as it had the Wolf Fangs on, lower it into the ocean and drag it to a safe island.

That was the theory. Putting it into action was harder.

Aya got Tempest to lift her onto the boat. She looked up at Jay. He was on the back of Titan, flying in the air and holding onto a rope. He looked down at Aya.

"Aya! Get off the ship!" Jay shouted down.

Aya shook her head. If she got off the ship there was always a chance that the Wolf Fangs would jump off. She stood there and watched as the Wolf Fangs moved closer.

She listened to the sound of their claws on the wooden deck and noted that it was almost as loud as her thundering heart. She looked over to Tempest. She frowned.

"Tempest, go." she said, looking at her dragon.

Tempest wanted to stay. He took off when Aya shouted for him to go.

Fishlegs told Jay they needed to raise the boat. He didn't want to. He had lost Aya in the swarm of Wolf Fangs. Knowing there was nothing he could do, he got Titan to take off.

.

Jay leapt onto the deck as soon as they reached an island. He got Titan to land beside him and scare off any Wolf Fang attacks. He searched the wreck that had once been a wooden flooring. He couldn't see any signs of Aya, alive or... Otherwise.

"Aya!" he shouted.

Titan bellowed out in his own search. Tempest landed beside Jay.

"Any sign of her?" Fishlegs called down from where he was on Meatlug, panicking. "Because Wolf Fangs are very dangerous and the stories say that they eat everything from a victim."

"Then there should be blood." Jay hoped.

He heard something from below. He frowned. Fishlegs told him to stay on the deck. Jay didn't listen. He was driven by a massive urge to find Aya. He didn't care if there was a pack of Wolf Fangs down there. He was going to find Aya no matter what it took. He told the two dragons to stay on deck and then slipped below.

.

Jay could hear Fishlegs shouting down at him that they needed to go but he wasn't leaving without Aya. He wasn't leaving going anywhere until he had either found her or her body. He didn't have any source of light and he knew how stupid he was being. He should have torn the ship apart for his search but there was a risk he would hurt Aya.

And he refused to let that happen.

He heard movement again.

"Aya, if that's you, please let me know."

There was no reply. Jay's hope evaporated. He looked down at the ground and groaned. A tear ran down his cheek and he bit his lip. Aya was gone and it was all his stupid plan.

He could hear the movements getting closer so he moved his hand towards his dagger. He didn't care about not killing dragons. One of those creatures had killed his friend and... Aya was more than just a friend.

The movement stopped right in front of him.

"Is Tempest okay?" the movement inquired.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Jay had wrapped his arms around Aya. He was so happy she was alive. He wanted to kiss her. But he didn't because he guessed she wouldn't kiss back.

Then Aya squirmed out of his grip.

"Don't you ever do that again." Jay said, using the darkness to hide his tears. "I thought you were dead."

Aya frowned and moved closer to Jay. She lifted a hand and touched his damp cheek.

"Can't get rid of me that easily." she managed.

Suddenly the door to the deck opened and Fishlegs leant in.

"Are you two done down there?" he asked.

Jay and Aya shot apart but Fishlegs gave the impression that he knew what had been going on. Aya made her way onto deck to see Tempest and Jay watched her go, smiling at her thoughts darkness.

Fishlegs smiled.

"Tell anyone and I'll let Titan sit on you." Jay told Fishlegs in a calm tone as he made his way onto deck.

.

They had returned and told the others about what had happened and how they had solved it. The rest had gone to sleep but Jay and Aya still wanted to talk and admire the stars. The streets were empty around them and even the shadows between the houses were asleep. Above them hung an endless carpet of black yet tiny sparks of light glowed and danced and swirled.

"So do you like Berk?" Jay asked as he walked through the village, looking up at the night sky and the shining lanterns that winked down at them.

"It's a great place. One of the better places." Aya admitted. "I feel at home here and that hasn't happened for along time."

They stopped and looked at each other. Jay smiled slightly and Aya found herself smiling as well. They looked up at the stars to avoid the intensity behind each other's gaze.

"One day, I'm going to take my kids and Titan's kids and we're going to fly all night when the skies are like this." Jay remarked. "Do you want to join me?"

Aya scoffed at the idea but the longer she looked at the stars and the more she remembered what had happened that day, she changed her mind.

"That would be nice."

Jay and Aya began to walk away towards Aya's house. They didn't notice when Toothless shifted and Ghost shifted his camouflage off and came out of the shadows.

"So you really think Aya and Jay would make a good couple?" Hiccup asked.

Iesra smirked and nodded. She looked at the boy beside her.

"They'd make a great couple." Iesra said. "I wonder what we should call them?"

"We'll call them what we always call them." Hiccup said with a false moan in his voice.

"But I'm sure they'll like to be called Jaya."

"We're not calling Jaya Jaya." the boy said.

He realised his mistake and frowned. Iesra smirked once again and then got Ghost to take off.

There you go, chapter number 3! Enjoy!


	4. Odin's Throng

Hey, unfortunately I still don't own How To Train Your Dragon :(. If I did, I would be devising flying machines in the shape of dragons.

Enjoy!

Iesra had somehow convinced Jay to join her on a trip through the woods on a different island to Berk. He knew that occasionally Iesra needed her own space and it was safer when someone went with her.

"So when are you and um... Aya going to get rid of the pause?"

"What?" Jay said, looking back at Iesra as she leapt down from the tree.

"Well, it's kind of obvious that you two would make a good couple."

Titan bowed his head in agreement and Jay looked at Titan with betrayal in his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be asking about Astrid and Alfie? Alfie actually has feelings towards Astrid."

Iesra frowned and shook her head.

"I don't like Astrid. There's something about her, it gives me the creeps." Iesra said slowly, choosing every word purposefully.

Jay understood some of it. For as long as he had known Iesra, the girl had been wary of humans, only Aya really knew why but big crowds or people who asked her lots of questions about herself... He had actually seen Iesra collapse when in a room full of humans. There was a reason that Iesra only really talked to the dragon riders and Gothi.

Jay said nothing on the matter but he noticed that Iesra had shifted closer to Ghost.

.

On their walk, Titan pulled back with a low bellow. Jay and Iesra looked forwards and saw a dragon trap rather well concealed on the undergrowth.

"Hiccup taught the other riders to disable them, we should go and get someone." Jay said.

Iesra rolled her eyes and picked up a rock. She threw the rock and hit the mechanism. The net sprung up and Iesra smiled.

"Must have been left from when they hunted dragons." she said.

Jay shook his head and said the mechanism was new. His work in the forge allowed him to recognise the states of metal and he was sure that the mechanism couldn't be an old one.

"So what? Not every island is as friendly as Berk. There could be a village nearby." Iesra remarked. "Or it's poachers."

Jay turned to Iesra and suggested they went back. His memories of the Wolf Fangs were still fresh. Iesra shook her head and looked at Ghost. She told him that she would just get bored. She had nothing to do until Hiccup returned from a trip with Toothless. He wasn't due back until the afternoon and Iesra had arranged to have a race with him.

"Iesra, we should go back."

Iesra sighed but nodded. She said she would lead the way back and then decided to lead Jay deeper into the forest to investigate.

.

Ghost playfully flicked his tail at Jay.

"We should have been back by now." Jay growled.

He stopped in the clearing and looked at the two dragons. Titan growled like his rider at something over Jay's shoulder.

"You've taken us the wrong way! We should have reached the coast by now."

Jay turned to face Iesra but she wasn't standing where he had excepted her to. With the revelation that there were poachers in the woods, Jay became very nervous.

"Iesra?" Jay called.

He moved to the spot Iesra had been standing and looked around. There were no signs of a struggle but Iesra was rather small and might not have been able to put up much of a fight.

"Iesra?" Jay called again.

Then something dropped out of the tree and hung in front of Jay. The young man leapt back and frowned. He watched as the teenager hung from a branch by her knees.

"You called?" Iesra giggled, hanging in front of Jay.

He growled at her immaturity but inside he was smiling.

"Did Alfie teach you that?" Jay asked, knowing Alfie was very good at climbing and always willing to teach the girls.

Iesra nodded but it came out strange because she was hanging upside-down. Jay grumbled at her that she needed to get down and she dropped to the floor.

"You need to grow up." Jay told her.

"Don't you dare ever say that to me!" Iesra gasped, clutching her heart and falling to the floor.

Jay rolled his eyes. He was getting annoyed. As much as he liked Iesra, he wasn't in the mood to spend the day walking through the forest with her, especially after she had tricked him.

"You know what, I'm going. I'll find my way back." Jay grumbled.

Iesra shook her head childishly and turned to Ghost. She made a comment that Jay couldn't hear and he climbed onto Titan. He told her to be back by night time.

Then Jay took off. Iesra watched him go and sighed. Then she turned and looked deeper in the forest. Suddenly alone, the teenager wasn't so sure of herself.

.

Iesra kept picking on. Occasionally Jay would fly over head, looking for the point that lead back to Berk. Of course Jay hadn't got a map on him and was therefore lost overhead but Iesra wasn't planning on helping him until he asked for it.

"He hasn't got a clue." Iesra remarked. "No idea what Aya sees in him."

Ghost looked at Iesra and gave her a knowing look. Iesra tried to ignore it for a few seconds but she soon broke.

"You're right; she probably doesn't see what I see in Hiccup." Iesra smirked. "And Toothless is the cutest little thing in the whole world."

Ghost continued on, rolling his eyes. Suddenly there was the snap of a trap and Ghost was hanging in the air, trapped in a net. Iesra frowned. She didn't have a knife on her. She never carried one. She only had her sling shot or a complete reliance on Ghost.

Jay would probably be able to help her free Ghost but part of Iesra didn't want to call him. She sighed and decided she would have to swallow her pride.

"Jay! Jay!" Iesra called.

.

In the woods, a group of poachers heard the calls and smiled. They had heard rumours of dragon riders and they hadn't seen any new boats. If there was a child on the island, they had to be a rider.

.

Jay heard Iesra's calls and frowned. He guessed she was pulling another prank so he stayed back. Then he heard Ghost roar and Iesra's cries got louder.

Only they weren't for Jay any more.

"Leave him alone!"

.

Iesra was struggling. She had been attacked by a group and her slingshot had really not been much help. Two men were holding her back as the others worked in getting Ghost down without the dragon escaping.

"Just let us go!" Iesra tried, trying her hardest to look innocent.

"Leave the girl alone!" a barked order came from above.

Iesra looked up and frowned as she watched Titan land in the wood.

"Let's make a deal. You leave the girl and her dragon alone and I won't burn you to a crisp." Jay snapped.

Iesra knew he hated poachers and could understand his anger. For her, poachers were scary in a way she couldn't describe. She hated anyone who tried to have power over dragons but poachers turned dragons from living belongings to dead skin bags and armour and...

The men studied Jay for a few long minutes and then a knife was placed against Iesra's neck.

"How about you come with us and we won't kill the girl."

.

Aya was not having a good day. Iesra and Jay were busy, Alfie and Astrid were sparring, Hiccup was yet to return from his morning flight, Fishlegs had made a unbelievable excuse and escaped and Snotlout was...

"How about you and me go and spend some time together in the grand hall?" Snotlout asked. "Lots of girls dream about time alone with the Snot-man."

"I think the word is bogeyman and I'm pretty sure they were nightmares." Aya answered, watching as the twins fought over something she couldn't understand.

Snotlout crossed his arms and began to pout. Aya smiled and then watched as a black dragon appeared on the horizon. She smiled.

"Hiccup! You need to deal with them, I can't do this."

She touched Tempest and he shocked her, his frustration causing his powers to go slightly haywire.

Hiccup landed Toothless just outside the academy and he rushed in, expecting a real problem.

"They're driving me nuts." Aya moaned.

"They're harmless." Hiccup said. "Just..."

He searched for the right word but came up empty. Toothless knocked against Hiccup and the teenager understood the message. He had promised that Toothless and Ghost could play a game of hide and seek.

"Where are Iesra and Ghost?" Hiccup asked.

Aya explained that Iesra was going to an of the islands.

"I think it was called... Um, Odin's Throne or..."

"Odin's Throng!" Hiccup said, guessing the name of the island. "Why on Earth would she go there?"

"She needed space. Jay went with her; she'll be fine." Aya reassured him.

Hiccup turned, going towards Toothless.

"Why did Jay let her go? He's as bad as Snotlout!" Hiccup moaned.

"What's wrong?" Aya asked.

Hiccup groaned and told Aya to stay with the others. Aya was really annoyed. She had originally wanted to go and suddenly an adventure had arose and she was being denied it.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, tell me what is going on!" Aya ordered.

"Odin's Throng is crawling with dragon poachers." Hiccup answered with an exasperated sigh.

He took off through the sky, telling Aya to stay put.

.

Jay and Iesra frowned as they watched the poachers. Their dragons had cast into deep pits with metal bars across the top to stop them from escaping. The teenagers had their hands bound behind their backs and tied to the metal grate that stopped Titan from escaping.

The poachers were a little distance away, occasionally glancing over at Jay and Iesra. They were discussing what they were going to do with the teenagers.

"You know we are never going to live this down." Jay hissed.

"I've been in worse situations." Iesra said.

One of the poachers moved towards the pair and Jay growled.

"I hate poachers." Jay said.

"Go on then, tell us what you're thinking." Iesra ordered.

Ghost roared at the sound of his rider's voice.

"Let's just leave you here to suffer for a little while longer." the man said.

.

Jay was getting annoyed at the poachers. He kept managing to control his anger and he was not struggling against the ropes.

Iesra was beginning to panic. She was uncomfortable at the idea that there was more humans that dragons and she couldn't get free.

"Iesra, calm down." Jay told her.

The poachers still hadn't made a decision about what to do with the teenagers. Jay called down at Titan and got him to fly up so Iesra could stroke him.

"What's going to happen to us?" Iesra asked.

"We'll escape them and, even if we don't, as soon as they hear we're dragon riders, they'll probably take us to another village and sell us and the others will find us." Jay assured her.

Iesra shook her head and pulled against the ropes. She wanted to see Ghost.

Then a figure moved towards them. They looked too small to be a poacher. He sat down beside Iesra and produced a knife. Jay frowned but then relaxed when the figure used the knife to cut Iesra's bonds free.

Iesra used her freedom to look at the figure.

"Hiccup?" Iesra hissed, seeing their rescuer.

Hiccup gave Iesra a nod as he moved towards Jay to free him. Then one of the poachers moved towards them. Iesra struggled to wrap the rope around her wrists so it looked like it hadn't been cut. Hiccup did the only thing he could and ducked behind Jay's larger form. The poacher smiled and reached out towards Jay. Iesra pulled out her slingshot and grabbed a rock, hitting the poacher in the forehead from close range.

"Free Jay and let's go!" Iesra hissed at Hiccup as the other poachers moved towards them.

.

Aya walked up to Alfie and Astrid. They were sitting on the ground, away from the village. Aya had been sure they were training but they seemed to be talking.

"So, Hiccup says that me, you, Iesra and him are the most..."

Alfie trailed off when he saw Aya walking up to him.

"What are you talking about?" Aya asked.

Alfie and Astrid glanced at each other and then smiled.

"The reason the outcasts were after us that day. The fact that Alvin saw us near the the Changewing pack." Alfie said.

"Oh... We should go and check on them. Me and Jay could fly over there later." Aya said.

Astrid shook her head and smiled. She said it would be fine if Aya didn't. Aya was going to sit down and have more conversation when Tuffnut came running over.

"Oh hey, Alfie, hey Astrid. Wasn't expecting to see you here." Tuffnut said, going to sit down. "I think I had something to tell you."

"Well, what is it?" Aya asked.

"Um... Ruffnut was electrocuted by Tempest." Tuffnut said. "And she's not been electrocuted before so..."

"You don't know what she's saying." Aya said.

She looked over at Alfie and Astrid and sighed. She told them she would deal with it.

.

Iesra and Jay were faster than Hiccup, not much quicker but they were ahead of him.

"We need to go back!" Iesra called.

"Our dragons are there, Hiccup!" Jay moaned.

Hiccup told them that they would get Ghost and Titan back when they were safe.

They ran into a clearing and Hiccup smiled. Toothless was standing there. The teenagers ran over to the dragon as the poachers breached the clearing.

"Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup ordered.

The dragon quickly reacted and fired at the poachers. Deciding that the teenagers weren't worth the risk, the poachers turned and fled. Hiccup turned to Iesra and Jay.

"I'm going to take you two back and.."

"No." Iesra said.

"Why?"

"Just no. Ghost is still trapped in that cage and..." Iesra tried.

Jay watched the two of them argue and rolled his eyes. He was tempted to go right back and get Titan himself but he knew that, if he did, chances were that he would be captured.

"Okay, all three of us will go to rescue the dragons but we will follow Hiccup's lead." Jay said, taking control.

.

Night had fallen on Berk and Aya thought she could finally relax. She had made a system so Tuffnut could understand his twin and sent Snotlout and Hookfang home. She was lying on a hill, looking up at the sky. Suddenly she saw a pair of legs standing nearby.

She scrambled to her feet and looked at the owner of the legs.

"Stoick, what's wrong?" Aya asked.

"Hiccup didn't come home. Have you seen him since this morning?"

Aya nodded and told Stoick about Hiccup going off to Odin's Throng to find Iesra and Jay. Stoick rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Why did he go there?"

"Because Iesra and Jay were there." Aya replied.

"And why were they there?"

Aya shrugged and fell back, looking up at the stars. She paused and frowned.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." she said but wasn't completely convinced.

.

Hiccup had decided that they should wait until morning so they had light on their side. Jay was asleep and Iesra had agreed to keep watch. Hiccup couldn't sleep and neither could Toothless. Iesra was further away, looking out at the trees. She had her head resting in her hands and was looking upset. Hiccup sat up and looked at Iesra. Then Toothless pushed against Hiccup.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless pressed against his shoulder and then looked towards Iesra. Hiccup understood and got up. He moved towards Iesra and sat down next to her.

"Toothless is worried about you." Hiccup said with his normal smile.

Iesra didn't react. She kept looking out at the forest. Hiccup sighed.

"I know you miss Ghost." Hiccup said. "But I can't have you pulling a Snotlout on me and disobeying what I say."

Iesra looked at him. She had tears in her eyes.

"I can't remember spending a night without him unless we've both been captured."

There was silence between the two and then Iesra shifted uncomfortably.

"I know its hard when your dragon is captured. Toothless is my best friend and..." Hiccup sighed.

Toothless walked over to the two of them and Hiccup put his hand on Toothless.

"So how did you meet Ghost?"

"He saved my life once and..." Iesra trailed off.

"Hasn't stopped doing it since?" Hiccup finished.

Iesra smiled and nodded. She looked back at Jay and shifted.

"And we kinda need Ghost." Iesra added.

Hiccup nodded and turned to her.

"Bet you that you can't think of a single person on Berk that I can't impersonate." Hiccup said.

.

Jay woke up to the sound of laughter.

"Seriously, dragons now?" Hiccup laughed.

"Yes. You told me you could do anyone." Iesra challenged.

Jay rolled over and watched as Hiccup studied Toothless and then got onto his hands and knees. He angled his head in the same way Toothless did and opened his mouth.

"I'm a big scary Night Fury and... Oh no, is that a fish!"

Hiccup went bounding off and Iesra laughed harder. Jay got up and frowned.

"Did you two even think about sleeping?" Jay asked.

Iesra and Hiccup stopped laughing to look at Jay. He sighed and got up.

"We should get going if we're ever going to save our dragons." Jay said.

Hiccup nodded, getting up. Iesra and Jay were already moving away through the woods. Toothless turned to Hiccup, huffed and then turned away.

"I was trying to cheer her up." Hiccup teased. "You would have done the same if it was Stormfly."

Toothless looked shocked at Hiccup and then seemed to agreed with his rider. He followed Hiccup loyally.

.

The poachers looked down into the cages so they could unlock them. They could see Titan in his cell and unlocked his but other cell looked empty. They frowned.

"The dragon's escaped!" one of them called over and the rest hurried over to look into the cell.

As no one was looking, Jay and Iesra rushed forwards. They lifted the unlocked cell door while Hiccup and Toothless were in the air, giving them cover. Titan flew out and Jay and Iesra closed the grate again.

Hiccup got Toothless out of view and then called out, "This one's escaped too!"

The men all turned to look at the other pit and Iesra and Jay rushed over to the one Ghost was in. They couldn't fit the bars.

"No!" Iesra hissed.

Hiccup told the two of them to get back and Toothless fired a blast.

"So much for stealth." Jay moaned.

The poachers turned and watched as Iesra and Jay wrestled the lid off of the cage. There was a gust of wind, signalling Ghost's escape and Titan arrived to take Jay to safety. The poachers were still closing in and Hiccup grinned.

"Toothless, barrel roll, multiple blasts!" he instructed.

Toothless did as he was told in seconds and blasted the poachers who were closing in on the other dragons. He stopped when Titan and Ghost took off with their riders on their backs.

"Now we can go home." Iesra said.

"Thank you for your permission." Hiccup said sarcastically but smiled over at the other two riders.

.

Stoick ran towards Hiccup as he landed. Hiccup looked back at Iesra and Jay and sighed.

"And what time do you call this?" Stoick asked. "You're meant to come back for bedtime."

"I'm early. It's just the wrong day."

Stoick rolled his eyes, telling him that he had been so close getting the whole of Berk to help them search for the three. Hiccup climbed off Toothless and began to walk towards his dad.

"Should we go and rescue him?" Iesra asked.

"I think he should fight this battle alone." Jay remarked as Hiccup was lead away by his dad.

Then Aya ran over to them. She looked at Jay and then Iesra.

"You two are never leaving me alone with Snotlout and the twins ever again." she said.

.

The sun had set and there was a dark figure on the beach. A wooden boat cut through the water and Alvin climbed out. Alvin stalked towards the figure and smiled.

"You still gonna keep up your side of the bargain?" he asked.

"Yes. I'll get you Hiccup. I can even get him without his dragon." the figure answered.

Alvin grinned and remarked that the standard of Berkian traitors was improving. The figure shifted uncomfortably and Alvin asked when he could expect the boy.

"A week at the most. And I'll bring you some of his friends." the figure added.

Alvin's smile deepened and then he heard the sound of a dragon coming towards them. Hiccup appeared at the pathway down to the beach and looked down. He could only see the figure and their dragon as Alvin had gone into hiding in the shadows.

"There you are! We've been looking all over Berk! The others are at the academy."

The figure turned and studied Hiccup. Hiccup smiled as the figure and their dragon moved towards him.

"Come on!" Hiccup said.

He hurried off and left the figure and their dragon standing in the pathway. The figure looked back down at the beach. Alvin looked up at them and smiled.

Everything was falling into place.


End file.
